Free remote desktop — remote support at no cost

Many “free” remote tools only appear that way at first glance — they finance themselves through ads, data sales or a trial period that snaps shut after 30 days. WinDesk Free is built differently:

• CHF 0, permanently — no trial period that expires. The Free plan stays free for as long as you use it.
• No credit card — you do not have to enter any payment details to get started for free.
• No ads, no data selling — screen data flows peer-to-peer directly between the devices. We technically cannot see it, and there is nothing for us to sell on.
• Full encryption included — every session gets AES-256-GCM, including the free ones. Security is not a paid extra.
• The other side pays nothing — only the helping side needs an account; whoever receives help installs the free host.

Free is not one thing. There are five fundamentally different routes, and they differ less in price than in what they ask of you later.

1. What the operating system already has

Windows ships with Quick Assist — Remote Assistance in older editions. It is there, it costs nothing, and for "my mother can't get the printer to work" it often suffices. Limits: Windows to Windows only, the other side has to be present, a Microsoft account on the helping side, no logging. Remote Desktop Connection (RDP) is a different thing and not remote maintenance in the support sense: it logs you in as your own user instead of letting you watch alongside, it requires a Pro or Enterprise edition on the far side, and it has no business being reachable over the open internet.

macOS has Screen Sharing built in. Usable within your own network, over the internet only with extra work. None of the built-in tools work between Windows and macOS.

2. Chrome Remote Desktop

Google's free tool, without a time limit and across platforms. The price sits elsewhere: it needs a Google account and a Chromium browser, and there is no standalone client. It is designed for private use — no central administration, no roles, no session log. And Google is a US corporation; anyone who has to evidence where data sits will not get far with it. In detail under Chrome Remote Desktop alternative.

3. Open source, self-hosted

RustDesk and similar projects publish source and coordination server. The software costs nothing, running it does: a reachable server, certificates, updates, and somebody who steps in when the coordination service falls over in the evening. Plus the signing question — self-built packages are not signed, so Windows warns on every install and macOS refuses to start until somebody lifts the block by hand. Anyone who talks end customers through an installation knows what that costs. Comparison under RustDesk alternative.

4. Free tiers from commercial vendors

Almost every vendor has one, and almost every one is explicitly meant for private use. The usual limits are session length, number of managed devices or monthly hours; unattended access is normally missing. The catch is in the next section.

5. WinDesk Free

Two hours a month, five minutes per session, without an account and without a card, with the same encryption as the paid tiers. What is included and what is not is set out below — unvarnished.

Not on features. Most free tools transmit picture and control perfectly adequately. They fail in four other places — and always at the point where you have already come to rely on them.

• Detection of commercial use. Several vendors check automatically whether free usage looks professional — many different counterparties, sessions during office hours, recurring patterns. Once usage is classified as commercial the connection ends, in the worst case in the middle of a job at a customer site. There is an appeals process, but it takes days. This is the most expensive trap on the list, because it does not show up during setup but when it matters.
• No unattended access. As long as somebody sits in front of the device and confirms, everything works. The moment a server has to be reachable at three in the morning, or a machine stands in a branch with no staff, nearly every free tier stops.
• No audit trail. Anyone who has to show who was on which device and when will find nothing exportable in the free tiers. Irrelevant for private use, not for any audit.
• Nobody to call. Free also means free support. If the connection will not come up, there is a forum. That is fine as long as nobody is waiting.

Honesty instead of small print and asterisks. This is included in the Free plan:

• Included: 2 hours of connection time per month (sum of all sessions).
• Included: unlimited sessions of up to 5 minutes each.
• Included: attended access — the other side confirms every connection.
• Included: AES-256-GCM encryption, peer-to-peer, Swiss hosting for signaling.
• Not included: unattended access (devices with no one in front of them) — that is a Pro feature.
• Not included: host management, groups, roles and team features.

You will find the full side-by-side comparison of all plans on the pricing page, and every feature in detail under Features.

• Private help for family & friends — “My mother cannot figure out the printer.” Connect briefly, solve the problem, done. See Family & friends use case.
• Trying WinDesk out — get to know the interface, the connection quality and the workflow before deciding on Light or Pro.
• Occasional ad-hoc support — if you only help now and then and briefly, 2 hours per month is plenty.
• Second opinion & quick diagnosis — look over someone's shoulder for a moment instead of directing them over the phone.

As soon as you help professionally or regularly, 2 hours per month and 5 minutes per session reach their limit. There is a clear, affordable step up from there — without bundle tiers:

• Light — CHF 19.90/month. Unlimited session duration, unlimited sessions, file transfer and clipboard sync, session history. Ideal for freelancers and small teams.
• Pro — CHF 29.90/month. Everything in Light plus unattended access, 100 hosts included, host management, roles and audit logs. For IT service providers and system administrators.
• Prepaid credit — CHF 0.20 per minute of connection. Buy credit and use it up as you go, with no subscription and no card kept on file. Worthwhile if you only connect now and then.